Running Hot

Most P4's I've seen refuse to run at anything below 55 degrees regardless of the type of heatsink & fan you use on them.

You may want to pop into BIOS and disable any options for auto fan speed control. This should shave a couple of degrees off it but will also increase the noise, possibly to an unacceptable level.

Actually, P4s are supposed to run at any temperature, they just get slower and slower the higher the heat.

Titan8990, check out newegg.com and read the customer reviews about different heatsinks, it's really helpful. Don't be afraid to reapply thermal paste and install a new heatsink, there are plenty of detailed guides available on the net and it really isn't too difficult to do

Thats funny, my intel P4 3.0 prescott with a stock heatsink runs at 32° to a high of 40° all the time. If your processor is running at 60° then you should look into the thermal compound to see if it has dried out or missing entirely. Doesnt really matter because if you want to look at it you will need to redo it anyway. A good cleaning with some 90% alcohol and a rag made from a old bath towel and then a thin coating put on with a sandwich baggy over the index finger will give you the best surface connection. I use the silver compound i get here.

http://www.directron.com/compound.html

Personally i have a Thermotake Blue orb II on my cedar mills 3.0 cpu and the temp never goes over 36°. I think the heatsink is a bit of over kill for my purposes, but hey, it runs real cool. Zalmans are very good also and i like the 120 MM if they will fit since they run quieter than the 92 mm models. Mine is whisper quiet.

http://www.directron...a775cooler.html

SRX660

01-Titan8990 [CPU Running Hot] 4th MAR-2007

Cooling Design Comments –

2) PSU's fan is on the bottom of the power supply inches from my processor (but I think that fan sucks air in and blows it out the back).

The – Power Supply – should be located in top rear corner – The Intake fan is generally on the bottom of the Unit and should be – drawing air in – and the rear power supply fan should be – Exhausting hot air out – the rear of the case -

I am running an 550w Antec Trio PSU

–
This is a fair size Power Supply – Is it the PSU that came originally installed? Sounds as if you need a larger case size – You can have – too many fans – That – Air Turbulence – can cause – Overheating – by – Ineffective – Cooling Design –

The case has too be large enough to allow for ample/sufficient air supply

"Bad/heatsink fan" -

Inspect fan for – Worn Bearings or Broken Fan Blades – How old is the – CPU Heat sink & Fan Assembly – Is it full of Dust – so that the heat sink is clogged & Air is trapped inside?

Do you also have a side fan – blowing air in – the same area that the – CPU Fan & the Power Supply Intake Fan are operating – This could be causing extreme – Turbulence – so that the CPU Fan is actually – starving for air –

"I'm thinking about buying a new heatsink and using the gel thermal compound but I'm a little afraid to because i have ruined a mobo and a cpu with it before."

The purpose of the – thermal gel/paste – is to – smooth out the imperfections – of the metal heat sink and to evenly transfer the heat from the CPU – (heat source) – to the heat sink assembly – by eliminating all the tiny hot spots – caused by the imperfection high/low spots –

"Any suggestions for real nice heatsink brand?"

Brand is not the problem – as much as the application -

Too much of the paste will act as an insulator and degrade the heat transfer and cause early CPU Failure-
The correct application of this thermal paste is essential – If the application is too difficult – there are – heat transfer pads – that are not as effective as a good paste application – but is better than a poor application or none at all -

Also there usually is a – protective covering – that must be removed – If this is not removed – then heat transfer is pretty much eliminated -

It is an Intel p4 2.8 and has the fan that came with it mounted on.

Who mounted/installed the CPU & Fan Assembly? The Fan should be rotating so that the air is being forced down onto the CPU and being forced out the side fins of the heat sink assembly – Now there needs to be a Larger Exhaust Fan in the rear of the Case – To exhaust the hot CPU quickly out of the Case

Smaller fans can be added in the front of the case ahead of the Drive Assemblies - to draw air in and across the Drives – for their cooling – These should be smaller & should be running slower – You need ample cool air supply – not a fast moving turbulent supply – The exhaust fans should be running faster – and should be using a speed control – This will make the cooling more efficient & less turbulent – (also will keep noise/interferance down)

Antec back fan,
I have a 120mm fan in the back blowing out and a 80mm on the top and side blowing in.

The rear fan is in addition to the internal Power Supply? That is good if it is – The other 80 mm fan may not be such a good idea – Depending on where it is actually located at, perhaps it could be another exhaust fan??

Side fans usually do not help as much as just having some air louvers/vents for added air supply – The smaller intake fans should be installed in the front lower area – and the larger exhaust fans should be installed in the upper rear area -

The Video Card may have a fan also – This fan needs to have some breathing area also – Usually it is a good idea – if the 1st expansion PCI slot is held open to allow for air supply for Video Card – This is generally the spot for the additional side fan, which would aide in Turbulence around the Video Card??

In essence – More Cooling is not better – It is – Efficient/Effective Cooling that is required -

Antec uses fan speed control on its power supply cooling fans & also supplies up to 3 additional Case Fan Power Plugs – to be used for fans only & not for other peripherals – This is because these fans are connected across (+12 Volt & +5Volt) for an effective variable (0 to +7 Volt) instead of a constant 5Volt.

I think 3 is too many intake fans – If you have several hard drives in front – you may need – maybe 2 fans to help extend the life of these drives – They should be small and running slow – just to evacuate the hot air from lingering on the drives is all that is necessary – because the back of these drives – sits the Motherboard – Keeping the cables properly/orderly maintained would help in more efficient cooling –

This is a side effect of the SATA drives – smaller & more manageable cabling – keeps the hot spots/pockets from occurring –

Additional reading material -

Antec heat transfer
http://www.antec.com...IYArticle2.html

Antec cooling article
http://www.antec.com...IYArticle3.html

Articles
http://www.antec.com/us/info_DIY.html

Cooling components
http://www.antec.com...ro_cooling.html

Jack123

Edited by Jack123, 04 March 2007 - 09:02 PM.

I'm sorry I had you confused when I said a 80mm fan when really I have two, one on the top of the case and one on the side. I dusted everything a few days ago. I have heard of the turbulance effect than you spoke of but i have tried disconnecting the side fan and it hadn't made any difference. The 120mm fan is in addition to the psu fan. I think much of the reason I am having cooling trouble is the heat in the room it is in. The strip thermal compound is what I had originally used but I'm going to go with the gel type.

I don't use the antec fan connectors because I didnt want my fans running slower. The back fan has a 3 speed control switch which I leave on high. Should I use the fan connectors and lower back fan speed?

How many RPMs should the processor fan be running? Back fan?

My cpu fan is running barely over 1000 and my back is running at 2100.

Thank you for your time Jack.

Edited by Titan8990, 05 March 2007 - 03:54 PM.

02-Titan8990 [CPU Running Hot] 5th MAR-2007

How many RPMs should the processor fan be running? Back fan?
My cpu fan is running barely over 1000 and my back is running at 2100.

If you use the speed control – where full speed is with +7 Volt applied – you can get 3500 RPM – The idea is to obtain an average constant speed – to keep the noise and interference down – but when CPU is taxed heavily – you can get – faster cooling –

If the heat sink is severely clogged – this will add resistance to fan speed – and you will not produce much speed – In fact the fan may seize up & stop – if completely clogged – You need to inspect closely – using a flashlight to clearly see – See attached photo & cleaning info -

Photo of clogged CPU -

Instructions for cleaning CPU -  01_Clean_CPU_FAN_Assembly_Process.pdf   161.07KB   116 downloads

I think much of the reason I am having cooling trouble is the heat in the room it is in.

Sorry – I neglected to mention that – Ambient Air – is a large factor – You cannot expect to cool the hot CPU temperature below Ambient – that would be the best you can achieve – Equal temp inside & outside of the box – unless your box is – Air Conditioned –

PC Cooling is just removing Hot Air from the CPU – and Exhausting this hot air Outside of the Box – The air itself is not being cooled – It is just being removed from the – Heat Source – and mixing with the larger outside tank – It is really a heat transfer/exchange -
Jack123

Edited by Jack123, 05 March 2007 - 05:13 PM.